Tabla de contenidos para 1587 en Auto Express

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler ● We ride with CEO Andy Palmer in Aston’s first electric car, and meet an ancestor “Lagonda will be an all-electric marque, reborn by EV pioneer Palmer, who helped launch the Nissan Leaf” ASTON Martin hasn’t been too coy about why its new all-electric Rapide E exists – it’s a test bed for the return of the Lagonda brand. Only 155 Rapide Es are going to be made, with Aston’s CEO Andy Palmer a potential customer, too. So it only seemed right that when the brand invited us for an exclusive ride around Silverstone’s Stowe circuit in a Rapide E prototype, it was Palmer sitting behind the wheel. We’d arrived in a 1981 Lagonda (see panel right), a car that signalled the brand’s seventies rebirth. “Lagonda’s a bit…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson ● ’Off-road’ supermini revealed ● Styling inspired by Audi Q cars AUDI has revealed an off-road-inspired version of its entry-level supermini, and it’s called the A1 Citycarver. Designed as a trim level rather than its own model, the Citycarver sits between Sport and S line variants of the A1 and is marked out by its raised ride height, new exterior styling and range of unique paint finishes. Prices are expected to start from around £20,000, with first deliveries due in the autumn. Styling revisions include black plastic wheelarch mouldings, redesigned side skirts, silver skid plates and a new front bumper as well as a bonnet with two high-mounted intakes instead of the usual three. Audi claims that the revised radiator grille is inspired by its SUVs. The A1…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk @JRRBatchelor We get to grips with AMG hyper-hatch SOMEHOW Mercedes has managed to stoke its 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine to produce a whopping 415bhp. Just let that sink in for a moment. Now you’ve pondered that, watch what that power is like when it’s shoved into a family hatchback. Our Johnny Burn drives the new Merc-AMG A 45 S. Countdown of the best electric cars FOR two years running, an electric car has taken the top gong at the Auto Express New Car Awards. The Jaguar I-Pace (above) came top in 2018, and this year it was the Tesla Model 3. But with new EVs launching all the time, which ones are the best? Our top-10 rundown is your guide. You can watch any of our videos on your…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods IN a leafy corner of the north-east Paris suburbs, a soiree is getting started in a car park behind one of the typically grand homes of Le Vesinet, the French capital’s most exclusive neighbourhood. This meeting is the beginning of what will turn into a two-day Parisien party. Specifically, it’s a birthday party, and a big one at that. It’s a celebration of this city’s most French of car companies, and Auto Express was invited. It is, of course, Citroen’s centenary, because 2019 marks 100 years since industrialist André Citroen’s armaments factory began to make cars for a France that was rebuilding itself in the wake of the First World War. The company that began in the Paris district of Javel has not endured a straightforward century, but…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk @sean_carson_ McLAREN’s development story is incredible. In a decade it has gone from launching its first production car to beating the established set at their own game. All of the know-how, hybrid hypercar exploits and trickle-down technology has led us to this: the 600LT Spider. The formula is a simple one: a convertible version of McLaren’s most hardcore Sports Series model, boasting a very similar set of stats. Its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 makes 592bhp and 620Nm; it’ll fizz, blare and gargle from 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds and tops 200mph flat-out. All of this is true of the LT coupé, too; that McLaren has managed to retain its attributes in the Spider is impressive. Yet it’s not the most astonishing thing about this car. Early McLarens were short on fun,…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods Running costs 31.2mpg (official) £64 fill-up WHEN we drove the new SEAT Leon Cupra R ST in March (Issue 1,567), we singled out the ABT package as the option that buyers of this limited-run hot estate should think about picking. We’re now getting our first chance to drive the ABT-tweaked car. What the £500 ABT Engine Control Unit (ECU) gives you on paper makes it look like a bargain. Power surges from 296bhp to 345bhp, with torque leaping up 40Nm, too. But best of all, it’s manufacturer-approved, so it doesn’t void SEAT’s warranty. The Cupra R ST arrives with some bespoke components, such as adaptive dampers, and suspension uprights with additional camber. The front brakes are by Brembo. Its turbo engine is almost unchanged from the unit in…

MODEL TESTED: Kia Ceed Sportswagon 1.4 T-GDi 3 PRICE: £22,810 ENGINE: 1.4-litre 4cyl, 138bhp THE Ceed has proved to be yet another big evolutionary step for Kia, and this Sportswagon estate promises to add competitive practicality in this affordable, small estate class. Design & engineering THE first-generation Ceed made Kia mainstream, the second-generation model proved Kia could cut it and beat its rivals, and now this third generation promises to add yet more upmarket appeal, even at this car’s affordable price. That’s because in £22,810 3 trim you get a good level of equipment. While the Kia is the most expensive car on test, it’s only £760 more than the Renault, yet you get more kit in 3 trim (our pictures show a First Edition, with the only differences down…

Kia Ceed 8-inch touchscreen nav Standard Key features: Nav, connected services THE Kia has an eight-inch screen that is bright and colourful, but its resolution isn’t as sharp as the Skoda’s system. At least it responds just as quickly, and beats the Renault’s on both counts. It gets lots of functionality too. The built-in sat-nav gets great traffic info and some other connected services, but if you’d rather link up your phone, that’s possible with the standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Hot keys around the screen also mean that you can easily jump between areas of the system, but going step-by-step through the touchscreen isn’t bad either, because the menus and layout are logical. This is where the Renault falls down, as well as working some of the climate…

Audi e-tron Issue 1,579, 1,585 BMW 3 Series Issue 1,576, 1584 Citroen Berlingo XL Issue 1,579 Cupra Ateca Issues 1,564, 1,573, 1,581 Dacia Duster Issues 1,561, 1,564, 1,572, 1,575, 1,583 Ford Focus Issue 1,582 Honda CR-V Hybrid Issue 1,576, 1584 Hyundai Santa Fe Issue 1,575, 1,580 Kia e-Niro Issue 1,569, 1,580 Kia Ceed Issue 1,567, 1,577, 1,582 Mazda MX-5 Issue 1,573, 1,585 Mercedes G-Class Issues 1,565, 1,574, 1,581 Renault Mégane R.S. Issue 1,581 SEAT Tarraco Issue 1,574, 1584 Skoda Fabia Issue 1,572, 1,582 Volkswagen California Issues 1,578, 1,583, 1,586 Volkswagen Touareg Issue 1,580, 1,585…

OUR SUV size is the big-selling 235/50R18 with speed ratings of VorY(up to 150 and 186mph) and 97 or 101 weight ratings. The three tyre label ratings are also listed below. Wet grip (WG) and fuel economy (RR) are ranked A-G, with the former the best. Pass-by noise is measured in decibels; the lower the figure, the better the rating. Notable absences include Pirelli, which does not have a general replacement tyre in this size; only those tailored for specific car makers. Vredestein said it did not have a suitable tyre and Bridgestone had stock problems with its nominated Firestone Roadhawk. Continental PremiumContact 6 V 97 RATINGS: RR: B WG: A Noise: 72 Cooper Zeon 4XS Sport V 97 RATINGS: RR: C WG: A Noise: 69 Dunlop Sport Maxx RT…

HANKOOK is another firm to produce a tyre just for SUVs, but you have to ask quite how much is a fresh design and how much marketing, because non-specific rivals will have been developed for the same weight ratings and other aspects. As it is, the Ventus S1 is a close match for the plain old PremiumContact 6. Deep water is the S1’s forte, because it took a first and second in the aquaplaning tests. And the deeper the better: in the 8mm on the straight test it hit 58mph before slip topped 15 per cent – around 4mph better than the worst tyre. It was also close to the Goodyear in the curved assessment. As the water depth reduced, so did the Hankook’s effectiveness. Across the wet tests it…

THERE’S no doubt that this is something of a transition period for British brand Dunlop. The deal Goodyear had with owner Sumitomo changed in 2016, with the former selling Dunlop tyres in fewer countries. This has seen Goodyear looking to take over Dunlop’s original-equipment listings, leaving the latter as a replacement tyre brand. However, putting a set of Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres on your SUV is a pretty good idea. This SUV version of the RT 2 was launched early in 2018, and it matched its Goodyear Asymmetric 5 stablemate’s performance through most of our tests. It had the edge on fuel economy – although it would make little real-world difference – and in the dry, despite not being able to match the Continental’s sharpness, or even the Goodyear’s. But…

IT’S been some time since we ventured beyond saloon and hatchback sizes for our tyre test, and the switch to SUV tyres has certainly shaken up the usual competitive order. We’ve also seen characteristics that we expect from certain brands fail to materialise. At the bottom of the table, Michelin’s ‘good-on-fuel, less-good-in-wet’ result was a surprise because its recent tyres have been much more balanced. Sharing last place is Cooper, although it is showing its age, particularly on fuel economy. Hankook did its usual solid job, while Continental did not: there’ll be questions asked in Hanover. Goodyear and Dunlop were closely matched, while our top two were also hard to split. Nokian takes its first summer-tyre win from Falken, but both are ideally suited to the demands of SUVs. Winner…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● We experience new Defender’s off-road ability for the first time ● But it’s the new 4x4’s ability elsewhere that really impresses THE all-new Land Rover Defender isn’t just one of 2019’s most eagerly awaited cars; it’s one that enthusiasts have been dying to see for nearly a decade. It’s expected to be revealed at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show – but Auto Express has been allowed behind the scenes at JLR’s Gaydon test base to sit alongside engineers in a late prototype. Of course, the Warwickshire facility isn’t the only place where Defender testing has taken place. Indeed, the engineers present – whose focus is on the durability side of the project – inform us that development mules have racked up a combined total of more than…

Hugo_Griffiths@dennis.co.uk @hugo_griffiths ● Rise in stranded motorists on major roads in England ● Average age of UK car is now eight-years old THE number of vehicles breaking down on England’s motorway and major-road network reached a five-year high in the last financial year. Highways England recorded 224,225 breakdowns in 2018/19, up from a figure of 189,256 in 2014/15. Figures released to Auto Express show that breakdowns were up a fifth in the last two years, and increased 14.8 per cent in 2018/19 compared to 2017/18. It comes as the average age of cars in the UK has increased from 7.8 years in 2015 to 8.2 years in 2018, and is up from 6.8 years of age in 2003. Traffic volumes have increased just 0.2 per cent in 2018 compared to…

THE following provide help with motoring problems. Some services are free, others charge a fee or operate on premium-rate lines (p), while some offer advice for members only (m) Legal AA: 0345 850 1130 (m) RAC: 0330 159 1446 (m) Which?: 01992 878329 Citizens Advice Consumer helpline: 03454 040506 Local Trading Standards Local Citizens Advice Bureau Used car inspections AA: 0800 056 8040 RAC: 0330 159 0720 Technical advice AA: 0370 142 0002 (m) Driving licences DVLA: 0300 790 6801 Car registration/history HPI: 01722 422422 AA: 0800 316 3564 DVLA: 0300 790 6802 RAC: 0330 159 0364 Traffic information AA: 0906 888 4322 RAC: 09003 444999 (p) Problems with dealers The Motor Ombudsman: 0345 241 3008 Consumer Ombudsman: www.consumer-ombudsman.org RMIF: 0845 305 4230 Scottish Motor Trade Assoc. 0131 331 5510…

Xavier Crespin manages the heritage aspect of PSA’s brands, looking after the group’s respective and enormous fleets of classic road and racing cars. Naturally, he’s been busy during Citroen’s centenary celebrations Q. Are there any cars missing from the 700 car-strong Citroen Conservatoire? A. We still have some missing links. It’s impossible to have all the significant cars. There are some very special SMs we don’t have. We don’t have the SM with four doors, We don’t have the SM convertible. But we are not a capitalistic organisation. We are not looking at owning, we just want to know who has what and to know these people. It’s frustrating when we lose contact. Q. Was the process of narrowing down the parade to 100 cars quite difficult? A. Yes. First,…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods FOUR years ago, we named the second-generation Volvo XC90 not just the best Large Premium SUV on the market, but our overall Car of the Year for 2015. While it hasn’t repeated the feat in subsequent years due to a raft of talented newcomers, it still ranks as a desirable, plush and premium SUV. Perhaps that’s why the car’s recent ‘facelift’ was so minor on the surface; why change a winning recipe? Regardless of how much we like the XC90, Volvo as a brand has made commitments to which its large SUV must conform. The firm wants to electrify its cars sooner and more quickly than most, so the updates see the arrival of an overhauled engine line-up, with mild-hybrid technology playing a key role. New, B-badged MHEV…

Sam_Naylor@dennis.co.uk @SamNaylor_AE THE new Audi S6 Avant has arrived in the UK, and the big news is that it now features a 3.0-litre diesel engine, rather than a powerful petrol unit like before. That might sound odd, given that diesel is rapidly falling out of favour, but the logic is sound. The new V6 diesel is assisted by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, which is an interesting aside, but not the main event. That would be the 700Nm of torque, which is the secret behind this car’s incredible pace. There’s just a little turbo lag before the engine comes to life, but in the middle of the rev range, performance is stunning. It feels beyond muscular and somehow falls into proper sports car territory. It doesn’t have the high-revs thrills a…

MODEL TESTED: Renault Mégane Sport Tourer TCe 140 GT Line PRICE: £22,050 ENGINE: 1.3-litre 4cyl, 138bhp RENAULT’S practical Mégane Sport Tourer gets a new turbo petrol engine to improve its appeal in a tough class. Here, we test the £22,050 GT Line model to see what it’s like. Design & engineering WHILE the Mégane has been around for more than four years now, it still looks slick. So Renault hasn’t altered the styling but has addressed one of the areas where it wasn’t so strong: the petrol engine line-up. The diesel range is good, but with a swing towards petrol, this new TCe 140 engine should help inject some fresh appeal into the French estate. It’s a Renault-Nissan unit that appears in the updated Nissan Qashqai SUV. We enjoyed the…

Ford Focus Estate 1.0T 140 ST-Line PRICE: £22,915 ENGINE: 1.0-litre 3cyl, 138bhp WITH 575 litres in its load bay, the Focus Estate offers more boot space than the Mégane ST, even if it trails the other two cars here. But the Focus is the most fun car to drive, so keen drivers should check it out. Sporty ST-Line gets good kit, too. VW Golf Estate 1.0 TSI 115 Match PRICE: £22,925 ENGINE: 1.0-litre 3cyl, 113bhp IF you go for a VW Golf Estate, a similar budget to our test trio buys an Estate in Match trim. This gets a decent level of equipment, but you’ll have to sacrifice power; at this price it’s the smaller 1.0 TSI 115 engine. At least the 605-litre boot is big enough.…

In association with products@autoexpress.co.uk @AE_Consumer THERE’S no doubt that SUVs are the current hot ticket for drivers, with just about every maker slotting one – and often more – into its line-up. This change of focus has also seen tyre makers revamp their ranges. SUVs are usually heavier than the equivalent hatchback, as well as taller, and often come with four-wheel drive. This places different demands on tyres, so some makers have developed SUV-specific ranges, while others have adapted existing designs. And here, in our first test of tyres for the current generation of SUVs, we find out who has done the best job. Although overall sales volumes remain low compared to the 16, 17 and 18-inch tyres we usually test, we chose one of the fastest-growing sizes, with the…

MICHELIN is leading the campaign to get tyres used safely right down to their 1.6mm legal minimum. There are strong environmental reasons for this, and the latest stage in the drive is to get EU wet-grip testing done when the tyre is worn – a real-world assessment – rather than brand-new, as is the case currently. At the launch of the Primacy 4 in 2017 Michelin claimed it delivered a high level of performance from new to the limit. We can only think that it had to give up some performance when new to get that worn-tyre ability because it had by far the worst results across all our wet tests. It’s almost like Michelin has turned the clock back to when it was at the top of the rolling-resistance…

WE struggle to know where to start with this performance. It’s all the more surprising given this tyre was first last year and Continental also took victory in the all-season and winter tests. The results are also contrary to those we usually see from the German brand. It normally stars in the wet, particularly in braking, while fuel economy is not at the top of its performance targets. However, here the PremiumContact 6 is the most fuel-efficient, yet in smaller 17-inch car form it was mid-pack, behind several rivals. It was also the best in the wet, while this SUV version was only sixth across the handling, braking and aquaplaning tests. It struggled in the braking, where it usually excels, and was off the pace on the wet circuit. Not…

OUR tests have seen a steady improvement for the Falken FK510. It was joint fifth last year and this SUV version took a well-deserved second here. It could so easily have been a win because the final scores were that close. Its result is all the more impressive because it’s a 2017 tyre, although as we’ve seen before, the German-based Japanese brand does a very good job of developing its tyres during their life. The FK510 was the dry-track star, securing wins in both handling and braking tests. You could appreciate that performance on the handling track, where the steering was sharp and combined with good grip, particularly through faster sweeps, which were taken almost flat out in our Tiguan. Some needed a lift, but the Falken gripped and had…

Motoring’s most outspoken and opinionated columnist sounds off “If you want the best value, funniest, most healthily cynical bloke on the F1 scene over the last three decades, look no further” HONESTLY, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to ride (and occasionally drive) with a few famous Formula One faces over the decades. Some were here today, gone today types that merely helped make up the numbers. Remember Taki Inoue and his comedic five minutes of fame? Others seemed stuck in midfield territory because, despite seeming to have talent, they found themselves in the right teams at the wrong times, with the added problem of lacking hunger and confidence. A perfect example was serial ‘nearly-man’ Martin Brundle, formerly of this parish (where I ghost wrote his post-race columns that…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Geely’s stake in Smart plus new platform to help boost range VOLVO is looking to expand its range of SUVs to include a smaller model, below the XC40, and a larger flagship that would sit above the XC90 at the top of the line-up. The Swedish marque posted record sales volumes of more than 340,000 vehicles during the first half of 2019, helped by the addition of its smallest current SUV, the XC40. This was despite profits taking a slight hit due to tariffs and tighter margins in declining markets. Now Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson has admitted that the firm may consider adding further types of car to its line-up. He told Auto Express: “Our strategy has been growth, but not through adding pure volumes. We have…

Vauxhall names price for Corsa supermini THE new Vauxhall Corsa (above) will cost from £15,550, with the first cars due to be delivered in January. Four trims and three engines are available to buyers. All models come as standard with alloys, a seven-inch infotainment system, a flat-bottomed leather steering wheel, LED headlights and daytime running lights. Prices rise to £25,990 for a top-spec 1.2 petrol car. Judges rule on phone use behind the wheel DRIVERS may only be convicted for using a mobile phone if two-way communication is being performed, a court has ruled. Approving the decision to overturn the conviction of a man who used his phone to film behind the wheel, High Court judges ruled that Section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 only prohibits drivers from holding…

mail@autoexpress.co.uk @AutoExpress Write to: Watchdog/Letters, Auto Express, Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP HOT TOPIC Dodgy number plates FROM: Derek Day WHY issue a fine to drivers displaying illegal number plates? They go to great lengths to buy them and are well aware of the law. The police should simply issue them with a £1,000 on-the-spot fine and then seize the number plates. FROM: Robert Sandel WHILE I totally agree that all number plates should be bought legally and follow the correct format when used on public roads, this story got me thinking: how would one legally buy a custom plate to display at a car show or event? Join the debate at www.autoexpress.co.uk ■ “No surprise that the number of cloned cars has increased since tax…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods Electric motor Power/range 403bhp/232 miles MERCEDES has set aside 10billion Euros (£9.2bn) for a plug-in vehicle push that will lead into the mid 2020s, and it’s promised that this cash will result in 10 all-electric Mercedes and Smart models hitting the road before the end of 2022. Key to this will be an all-new, purpose-made platform being built in a brand-new factory. But before that, the firm’s first pure battery-powered car from the newly launched ‘EQ’ sub-brand is this: the EQC. It’s available in UK dealerships now. The car’s design language sets the tone for EQ cars to come, but squint a little and it resembles the GLC – and for good reason. The EQC uses a highly modified version of that car’s conventional platform, rather than something…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk @JRRBatchelor FEW cars have had as many special editions as the Mazda MX-5. Over the past three decades the UK alone has had more than 50 specials, with each being highly prized by diehard fans of the model. The latest is the 30th Anniversary, which, unsurprisingly, celebrates 30 years of the popular two-seater. Unlike some of the specials over the years, this one will be built on a limited run, with 3,000 available globally. Just 550 are earmarked for the UK: 370 Roadsters and 180 RF models; the softtop costs £28,095 and the RF £29,895. You won’t mistake the 30th for any other MX-5; all cars come in Racing Orange, and there’s the obligatory numbered plaque on the side sill, alongside a set of unique RAYS 17-inch forged alloy…

MODEL TESTED: Skoda Octavia Estate 1.5 TSI 150 SE Drive PRICE: £22,765 ENGINE: 1.5-litre 4cyl, 148bhp AFTER yet another win at our New Car Awards (Issue 1,583), the Skoda Octavia is our Estate Car of the Year. We’re testing the 1.5 TSI manual in midspec SE Drive trim (our pictures show Sportline), which costs £22,765, so is competitively priced. Design & engineering ONE of the most interesting but imperceptible technological features of the Skoda Octavia Estate centres around the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that we’re testing here. There’s nothing unusual about its output of 148bhp and 250Nm of torque. These figures are similar to its rivals – the latter more than either, while the Octavia weighs less, at 1,227kg. Instead the tech focuses on the Active Cylinder Technology (ACT)…

COOPER-owned Avon appeared in our tests for the first time for many years in 2018 and now it is the turn of the US parent brand to follow suit. The Zeon 4XS Sport is the first of the designs made specifically for SUVs and 4x4s, rather than an adapted car tyre, that we come to. It is good to see how the company measures up to its European and Far East rivals, but sadly the Zeon 4XS Sport is not in the first flush of youth because it went on sale in 2016. A lot of tyre tech has been developed since then, yet it still has an A wet-grip label rating. It was able to take second in the closely matched wet circle, although it struggled in handling and…

ALL new tyres are important for the producer, but the Asymmetric 5, launched earlier this year, comes at a key time for Goodyear. After years letting sister brand Dunlop take the sporting limelight, Goodyear is attempting to revive its own reputation at the faster end of the market. This is our first full look at the Asymmetric after an initial test in Issue 1,578, and its promise looks to have been fulfilled. We couldn’t separate it from the Dunlop overall, and the gaps were small in the tests, too. The Goodyear had the edge in its traditional area of expertise – the wet. It starred in the aquaplaning tests, and in the shallower-water handling and braking tests. It felt assured behind the wheel, too, with good traction and a positive…

WE’VE long been fans of Nokian’s winter and all-season tyres, and their success is no surprise given the Finnish maker’s state-of-the-art snow-testing facilities. But its summer range (or just ‘tyres’ for most UK drivers) has failed to match that performance – until now. The Powerproof, and the Wetproof for the touring tyre segment, were launched last year to target premium producers like Michelin and Continental. And the firm is determined to succeed in the summer as well as the winter sector, with a proving ground and tech centre in Spain due to open next year. But its existing facilities are good enough to make a top SUV tyre. It took all three wet handling and braking tests, and was one of those tyres that seem to encourage you to go…

Got any car queries? Tristan_Shale-Hester@dennis.co.uk @AE_Consumer Q Disabled parking at work I’M disabled and my office doesn’t have a car park. There’s no street parking, and the nearest train station is a long walk away. Does my employer have to provide parking? D Riley, E-mail A USUALLY, employers are not obliged to provide parking. The fact you have a disability, though, means you are protected by the Equality Act 2010. Your employer must provide parking for you and any other disabled employees, and you should take this information to your manager. If this fails, consult the Citizens Advice Bureau. Q European headlight laws WHEN driving in Europe, do I need to have my headlights switched on all the time? I heard that EU law requires this, but I’m not sure…

Stephen_Errity@dennis.co.uk • Audi leads points standings • Red Bull F1 demo Sunday GERMANY’S DTM touring car series makes its annual visit to UK shores this weekend, heading to the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on Saturday and Sunday. With 10 of the series’ 18 races complete, Audi is leading all three championships. In the drivers’ classification, René Rast has an advantage of 22 points over his fellow Audi driver Nico Müller and 40 over the best-placed BMW driver, Marco Wittmann. In the teams’ standings, Audi entrants Team Rosberg and Team ABT Sportsline hold the first two positions, while in the manufacturer standings, Audi is out front with 576 points to BMW’s 406 and Aston Martin’s 37. Talking about his season to this point, Rast said: “We’ve been competitive on every…